This description relates to a vehicle navigation display.
A vehicle navigation system typically tracks a location of a vehicle using a combination of satellite-based position sensing (e.g., using the Global Positioning System, GPS) and dead reckoning (e.g., using odometer measurements). Data representing features of a map are stored in the vehicle, for example, on a removable disk (e.g., a DVD-ROM). One provider of such map data is Navteq Corporation.
The map data is used to display a map of the vicinity of the vehicle on a display screen in the vehicle, such as on a screen mounted in the dashboard. The vehicle's location is indicated on the map display. The map display is updated as the vehicle drives along the road network. Points of interest, such as gas stations and restaurants, may also be displayed. In some systems, the user can manually select a degree of zoom to change the size of the map features displayed. In some systems, the degree of zoom is automatically varied according to the location of a next turn or other maneuver in a planned route.
Vehicle navigation systems also typically provide a route planning capability in which the driver selects a destination and the system determines a path though the connected road segments of the map data. Various optimization approaches are used (e.g., graph-based shortest-path algorithms), for example, to minimize a total distance to be traveled or to minimize an expected travel time. The planned path generally includes “maneuvers,” such as turns at intersections or a merges onto highways that the vehicle is to make in order to follow the path.
Navigation systems also typically provide a route guidance capability in which the driver is guided along a planned route. Such systems provide instructions to the driver using one or more of a map display in which the planned route is indicated, schematic displays of maneuvers (e.g., turns) to be performed by the driver, and audible instructions. Some systems provide a concurrent display of a map and a schematic display to guide the driver along the planned route to provide both an overall view of the route as well as detailed instructions and maneuvers in the route.